Design Strategy, Trends

21st Century Design: Circular Economy

March 11, 2019

A couple of weeks ago, we explored how design could help mitigate the alarming 21st century problem of poor emotional wellness. Today we’ll take a look at the role design can play in developing circular economies, another pressing need in the 21st century. Where do the two intersect? How can we design ventures that are profitable, but not at the cost of environmental sustainability?

A circular economy provides the opportunity for sustainability to successfully co-exist with business goals.

A circular economy is an alternative to a traditional linear economy (make, use, dispose) in which we keep resources in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from them whilst in use, then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of each service life.

– WRAP, Waste Company

There are already a number of inspiring projects around the world that have recognised the burning need for such a system, and have developed products and services around the concept. Examples often work better than theory, so let’s take a look at the ways some organisations are employing the concept of the circular economy to tackle the world’s biggest resource and waste management problems.

OCEAN TRASH

According to The Ocean Cleanup, over 5 trillion pieces of plastic currently litter the ocean, and it is predicted that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean. Read more about the effects of these alarming statistics at the Ocean Conservancy website .

Some companies have integrated innovative product and venture design solutions that do their part to stop the problem from becoming worse.

RAW for The Oceans

Jeans made out of ocean trash? In 2014, Pharrell Williams showed us how clothes can be designed for fashion AND sustainability. The singer, who is also the Creative Director of Bionic Yarn and now a co-owner of clothing brand G-Star Raw, collaborated with the two mentioned companies to develop RAW for the Oceans – a project that recycles ocean plastic into denim.

S-1500 Chair

Integrated design firm, Snøhetta has spent two years on a research project to understand “plastic as a material, its journey and footprint in the value chain, as well as its inherent qualities”.The aim has been to help the public understand waste plastic in a new light – not as a substance that has completed its life cycle, but as a resource that could be put to many possible new uses.

The firm has developed the S-1500, a chair made from 100% recycled ocean plastic, in collaboration with furniture manufacturer, Nordic Comfort Products. The chair uses recycled plastic made from worn out fishing nets from the local fish farming industry, while the sub-frame is fashioned from recycled steel – making it one of the lowest carbon footprint chairs in the market.

By sourcing waste material from the local community and converting it into a new product in the same geographic area, the company has designed a circular system.

Adidas Parley

Adidas, in collaboration with Parley, designs eco-innovative ways to convert materials made out of ocean waste into high performance sports gear.

UNDER UTILISATION / WASTAGE OF RESOURCES

Practices and systems that don’t fully utilise resources or the entire lifespan of goods also contribute to an unsustainable future, and examining how to change these systems to the circular economy model is where opportunity for innovation can be found.

Vigga

Babies and young children grow out of their clothes very fast, sometimes even before they have had a chance to use a new item! The same goes for maternity wear – its use is for a limited time period only. Danish company Vigga has developed a system that allows parents to lease, rather than buy, their high quality organic maternity and childrenswear.

By becoming part of this shared economy, customers get to choose 20 items of clothing and once they don’t fit anymore, they return them and receive 20 more in the next size, all at a fraction of what it would cost to buy the same clothes.

Since this system means that the clothes have to be passed around more often, long lasting quality is built into their design, in order to get more usage per item, also reducing textile waste by 70-85%

Gamle Mursten

Bricks provide an eco-friendly building material option that can be recycled and reused, if properly treated. Cleantech company, Gamle Mursten, employs a patented, chemical free cleaning technology that allows for old/used bricks to be cleaned, inspected and reused, saving 95% of the energy that would be needed to manufacture new bricks. Each reused brick saves 0.5 kg of CO2 emissions.

Where old bricks from a demolition site would conventionally end up in a landfill or have to be crushed for recycling, Gamle Mursten provides a way to make full use of this building material’s lifespan, which can extend into centuries.

Olio

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tonnes — gets lost or wasted. In developing countries most of the loss happens in the growing or post harvest stage, but in wealthy countries like America, most of the food waste happens in the consumption stage – when consumers throw out excess food.

Besides it being ethically wrong to throw out food when there are people starving around the world in poor countries, food waste also has a detrimental effect on the environment, by wasting natural resources and/or adding to greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the Olio website:

“If food waste were a country it would be the 3rd largest emitter of greenhouse gases”

Olio is an application designed to reduce the incidence of food wastage. The digital platform connects those with surplus food to those who need or wish to consume such food.

Are you intrigued by these ideas? Or do you have a great idea you’d like to take to the next leve? Get in touch with Zeitgeist – your venture design partner!

Brand Strategy, Design Strategy, Space Design

KAAV: At The Intersection of Wildlife, Luxury & Sustainability

By admin on

February 27, 2019

- Brand Strategy, Design Strategy, Space Design

Wildlife awareness and wildlife conservation are key to developing a sustainable future.

In honour of World Wildlife Day which is this Sunday, Zeitgeist would like to shed the spotlight on Kaav Safari Lodge. Located at the southern border of the Nagarhole National Park, Kaav integrates wildlife awareness into its luxury safari lodge, while at the same time ensuring that the footprint left behind from their business operations is as minimal as possible.

It can be tricky to incorporate luxury and sustainability into a venture’s design, but Kaav weaves the two seamlessly into its business model.

Here are 3 things we appreciate about this eco-friendly resort:

DESIGN & ARCHITECTURE

Starting with its minimal brand logo, every design aspect of the Kaav brand represents an unobtrusive but sophisticated ethos. The typography of the logo subtly hints at the outdoors and nature, through its use of alphabets that look like camping tents.

Offering plush rooms with private balconies and glamorous tents with their own private decks, the accomodation at Kaav leaves no stone unturned when it comes to offering clients a luxurious experience. But it also blends into the location’s natural, wildlife setting, through the use of carefully chosen natural materials and employment of climate responsive architecture. Kaav’s architecture and interior design beautifully complement all aspects of the the business’s ethos.

The same goes for the common lounge, dining room and swimming pool. The infinity pool feels more like a pristine, untouched, natural water body one would chance upon in a remote jungle, than it does a man made pool.

The well thought out property design is the foundation upon which Kaav is able to present guests with a unique value proposition.

SUSTAINABILITY

Kaav takes sustainability seriously. Its actions are not limited to supporting a ‘crowd pleasing’ cause or a one-off CSR initiative. Rather, sustainability is integrated into the processes of all its key activities.

This eco-friendly lodge uses renewable energy wherever possible, recharges groundwater tables and employs a reverse osmosis system that provides potable water at low-energy expenditure. For all the cooking done here, naturally obtained methane is used, extracted from a bio gas plant that employs the lodge’s own kitchen waste.

Further, Kaav engages with the local community to annually plant endemic flora, essential to maintaining biodiversity in the area. Guests also have the opportunity to participate in this activity.

AUTHENTICITY

Kaav promises ‘untamed luxury’. And it stays true to this promise, by allowing one to experience wildlife in all its glory, with the comfort of high end hospitality.

Located in one of India’s best places to sight wildlife, Kaav promotes wildlife awareness through a number of activities that allow guests the opportunity to explore and understand nature and its relation to the broader ecosystem within which it exists. Some of the activities include nature walks, spider walks, boat safaris, coracle rides, birdwatching and kayaking. The lodge has a knowledgeable resident naturalist, who is able to answer every question pertaining to the flora and fauna of the area.

What makes the Kaav brand truly authentic is the attention it pays to the small details; the details that reveal the brand’s commitment to wildlife awareness, sustainability and creating meaningful and unforgettable experiences.

Little things like the bespoke Christmas tree made entirely out of natural materials, the thoughtful riverside tea break after the morning’s nature walk, or the Tiny Safaris which are dedicated to exploring spiders, ants, beetles or fireflies are what make Kaav an authentic brand that stays true to its promise.

All images: www.kaav.com and https://www.instagram.com/kaavsafarilodge/

Design Strategy, Trends

Designing For Inclusivity: 3 Tech Enabled Products We Love

By admin on

January 16, 2019

- Design Strategy, Trends

The recent past has seen many companies, big and small, leverage on the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, voice recognition, computer vision and motion sensor technology that the world has seen in the past few years, to bring pathbreaking, innovative new products into mainstream, everyday use.

One of the areas such technology has the potential to create meaningful social impact is in its use to improve the quality of life of the differently abled community. However, ‘designing’ for this community is sadly often reduced to nothing more than an appendage to the original design, added on as an afterthought.

So, as a venture design company that is heavily embedded in design thinking, it is refreshing to come across products that are developed using the design thinking framework, where the end user’s experience is the focus of the problem solving process, and technology is integrated as an enabling tool that enhances the user’s experience.

Today we’re sharing 3 products that we feel are excellent examples of this, featuring one product each designed to assist the deaf, the blind and the mobility impaired.

Seeing AI

Microsoft’s Seeing AI (free) app is designed to assist people with poor or no vision. The app, which is VoiceOver enabled, uses artificial intelligence to help blind people make better sense of the world around them by*:

– Speaking text as soon as it appears in front of the camera.
– Providing audio guidance to capture a printed page, and recognising the text, along with its original formatting.
– Recognising friends and describing people around the user, including an estimate of their age emotions.
– Providing audio beeps to help locate product barcodes and then scanning them to identify what they are.
– Generating an audible tone corresponding to the brightness in the user’s surroundings.
– Reading out handwritten text.
– Identifying currency bills when paying with cash.

Here’s the demo video of the person recognition feature:

The app is currently available for download in 70 countries, including India.

Eye Gaze Controlled Wheelchair

A person who has a physical disability that prevents them from walking, would usually be able to move around with the help of a wheelchair. But what happens when the user also doesn’t have the ability to use his hands and arms to steer the wheelchair? Using its eye tracking technology, EyeTech, in collaboration with Quantum Rehab has designed a system to overcome this. Here’s a video that explains how it works:

StorySign

This free app from Huawei uses a combination of artificial intelligence and augmented reality to scan and display text alongside sign language, via an animated character, helping young children learn to read.
This could potentially revolutionise the ‘storytime’ experience for the world’s 32 million deaf children. This video shows you how, and is also sure to bring a smile to your face.

How do you feel technology like artificial intelligence and virtual, augmented and mixed reality could be utilised to make a difference in the lives of people living with other forms of disabilities? Do share your thoughts in the comments below.

To help the creative juices flow, we leave you with a quote by Charles Eames that draws from the basic premise around which the design thinking framework is based:

Recognizing the need is the primary condition for design

Design Strategy, Space Design

Designing For The Future – What Does It Mean?

By admin on

September 20, 2018

- Design Strategy, Space Design

“As human beings, we are vulnerable to confusing the unprecedented with the improbable.
In our everyday experience, if something has never happened before, we are generally safe in assuming it is not going to happen in the future, but the exceptions can kill you and climate change is one of those exceptions”

– Al Gore

Our landscapes are changing rapidly, and it is imperative, now more than ever, to inculcate a strong set of principles that define impactful and positive output.

COLLABORATION

Without collaboration, there is no progress. We can no longer rely on the conventional team structure (Client, Architect, Interior Designer, Structure, MEP, and Landscape Designer) when providing inputs towards holistic space design solutions to develop a thriving community.

Progressive teams today include professionals from a multitude of disciplines, from psychologists, social anthropologists and eco consultants to traffic consultants, geologists and disaster management consultants – a group of professionals you would have never imagined on a round table discussing space design. Breaking away from conventional ways of working, and inviting collaboration and encouraging participation from such diverse disciplines assures a more robust solution, one that is more structured, adaptive and more importantly, responsive to our current plight.

SUSTAINABILITY

This sits at the forefront, for we as humans have the sole responsibility (and rightfully so!) of reversing our own doing. We are solely responsible for the depletion of our natural resources and our environment, and apart from us damaging our own future, we are responsible for affecting the survival of other species as well.

The key here is that we address this not to survive but to thrive, and our approach needs to go beyond “patch-fix” solutions to such problems, only to add a few more years to the inevitable; but instead must provide a holistic solution that actually stops if not reverses the damage. The fact is that in order for species to thrive (not survive) there is an interdependency between all living things and whether we are willing to accept it or not, that time has come! So how does this apply to design, specifically, within the realms of space?

The key areas that need addressing are urbanisation, waste generation – solid and water waste, and energy (generation, consumption and wastage). We also need to work with government authorities to redefine building bye-laws and urban development policies to at least protect the environment from any further negative impact.

Firstly, we need to move away from centralised civic support systems and treatment solutions to localised systems and solutions, thereby developing the motto, “at source”. Our communities, homes and buildings must be designed such that we produce what we consume. Those that practice this are referred to as prosumers, and this in itself will tremendously change our relationship with our environment. This further applies to construction material, i.e. sourcing localised materials and using local labour. In addition, looking at recyclable building materials and using fast growing trees for furniture such as acacia and bamboo, which are excellent substitutes to teak and rosewood.

AFFORDABILITY

Land is no longer an affordable commodity for the masses. Addressing the needs of the masses is key to the successful development of our ecosystem. And it’s not just servicing the need for shelter, but to providing solutions to uplift their lifestyle at an affordable cost.

COMMUNITY

Remember you’re as strong as your weakest link. Designing for the community is crucial to ensuring holistic development. This also helps bring affordability onto the table. Designs today need to incorporate a multitude of facets into the living ecosystem developing it laterally. A lot of futuristic designs incorporate co living, co working, parks, open spaces, sports centres, malls, libraries and any such activities that foster community development and engagement.

TECHNOLOGY

Today technology sits at the forefront of progressive design. Deep learning, IOT and systems design are driving companies into the future, creating efficacy and improvement to already existing business models. Newer business models are emerging with embedded technologies for a competitive advantage in global markets.

IN CONCLUSION

The final piece to the puzzle is government support, to allow design thought initiatives the liberty to execute and flourish, keeping in mind the predicament we have put ourselves in.

Furthermore, it requires you to go beyond your conventionally defined scope and not just think about the project at hand, but more importantly, the relationship and responsibility it shares in context to its immediate surroundings, community, city, and the world at large.

In essence, designing for the future means taking an inclusive approach, using a multitude of perspectives from various disciplines to achieve a holistic solution that keeps the user at the center – what we call the design thinking framework.

Raoul Parekh
Founder & Chief – Design Management

Brand Strategy

Reimagining Brand Identity For Impact – 3 Examples

By admin on

August 30, 2018

- Brand Strategy

The goal of Design Thinking is to develop solutions that create value within a given context.

As science advances, perceptions change and progress takes place, the requirement of the end user changes as well.

Isn’t it pertinent then to regularly re-evaluate the relevance of an existing design in its current context? Especially if it is one that has been around for a while?

This is what ignites the flame of innovation. Here are three examples of re-branding done intelligently and that spark a deep connect with their respective audiences.

Towards Inclusivity – The International Symbol for Access (ISA)

As the ISA – a white figure in a wheelchair against a blue background – celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, McCann London has launched its Visibility93 campaign to address the sign’s relevance in today’s context.

Over the past 50 years, advances in science and people’s perceptions have led to us as a society slowly recognising that a person in a wheelchair is not necessarily indicative of someone with a disability. From physical disabilities like arthritis to mental ones such as schizophrenia, ‘invisible’ disabilities can often be overlooked and suitable access denied. The Visibility93 campaign was launched by McCann to shed light on this and to reimagine the sign as one that is more inclusive.

The Visability93 campaign includes a suite of custom typeface that can be freely downloaded from the campaign website, as can a free poster, to raise awareness of the same.

Why the number 93? According to Sport England, 93% of the people living with disabilities do not in fact use a wheelchair. McCann wanted to draw focus to this eye-opening statistic.

The original disability sign, designed by Danish student Susanne Koefoed in 1968 played a huge role in raising awareness and promoting empathy, acceptance and a change in perception. But even the best of designs must take heed of the zeitgeist and readapt itself to become meaningful and relevant in its current context.

Making Growth Fun – Social Mobility Foundation

The Social Mobility Foundation in England, is a charity that works towards improving the lives of young people from low income and minority sections of society, by helping them gain an entry into good universities and on to the career paths of their choice.

Jones Knowles Ritchie (JKR), which worked on the project for free, has rebranded the organisation to be more in tune with the target audience – a young, Internet savvy, always-online community. The new identity is playful and inclusive.

Keeping in mind that online platforms are a big marketing channel for the organisation, JKR developed animated branding, which you can see below – it’s playful, attractive, clever and representative of upward mobility. The missing ‘o’ concept was extended to promotional and marketing material.

The firm was also cleverly able to transfer the missing ‘o’ concept into static print material, such as posters, brochures and t-shirts.

While developing the redesign, JKR worked within certain constraints. For example, it didn’t alter the existing identity to an extent that it would no longer be recognisable as that of the organisation’s. It made subtle tweaks instead, such as retaining the original colour palette of pink, purple and white, but opting for slightly brighter shades. It also kept in mind that running costs across brand extensions should be kept to a minimum to make it a viable proposition for the charity. So a free typeface that is readily available on Apple and Microsoft systems was chosen, while existing photographs from the charity’s own vast database were used for impactful imagery.

Depicting the Role of Women in 2018 – Girl Guides, UK

The role of women in today’s society is vastly different from what it was a 109 years ago, when the concept of Girlguiding was born. For over 100 years, the organisation has been encouraging girls and women between the ages of 15 to 25 to “learn new skills, work as part of a team or as a leader, and complete projects for social or charitable causes.” The Guides are split into 4 categories based on age (plus the Senior section for those aged 14 to 25). Guides can earn accomplishment badges in a skill or an area of interest by completing certain (age appropriate) challenges. The brand’s redesign which was developed by Red Studio, focused on a new look and feel for the badges and the corresponding award books and handbooks. It also incorporates the addition of new skills to the Guides’ repertoire, such as Coding, Inventing, Human Rights and Festival Go-ing.

The badges are current, appealing and appropriate to all the Guide age groups. One of the main outcomes of this re-design is that the new badges have a more “permanent” feel to them – they can be sewn onto jackets, caps, blankets etc. as keepsakes, evoking the feelings of achievement and belonging, as well as nostalgia in the years to come.

While the colour palette for for all the age groups is the same, the books for the two younger groups focus more on the colours and contain illustrations; the use of colour in the books for the two older groups is more pared down and photographs instead of illustrations are used.

The examples highlighted here have added value to existing designs by making them relevant to their current audience, in their current context, without taking away from the core of what each brand has stood for over many years.

Design Thinking focuses on human-centered design that truly adds value to the end user. Do you have a brand identity that needs re-imagining for today’s world? Using the framework of Design Thinking, Zeitgeist can help you design and develop a Brand Strategy that can take your business to the next level. Reach out today!

Gitanjali Singh Cherian
Marketing Manager

Image and information source: www.designweek.co.uk

Design Strategy

Designing User-Centric Solutions: The IDEO Way

By admin on

July 6, 2018

- Design Strategy

In the article we published last week we talked about how and why Zeitgeist incorporates the Design Thinking framework while designing solutions.

But everything is always better explained and understood with an example and when it comes to Design Thinking, there is, of course, no better place to go for examples than IDEO.

To understand how IDEO develops truly ‘user-centric’ solutions, today we’ll highlight three examples of how the firm used insight, observation and empathy, which, according to Tim Brown are the “three mutually reinforcing elements of any successful design program”, to uncover latent needs of the end users they were developing solutions for.

According to Brown, the real challenge of design thinkers is “helping people to articulate the latent needs they may not even know they have.”

Insight – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention case study

When The Center for Disease Control and Prevention approached IDEO to develop a solution to tackle the alarming obesity trend amongst the youth of America, IDEO went in search of context and insight into the user’s mind – to Jennifer Portnick.

By taking legal action against an aerobic and dance fitness company that had refused to let her become a franchisee instructor, Portnick had made headlines when the firm was forced to change a discriminatory policy of theirs that prevented plus sized individuals from becoming instructors.

Portnick was plus sized, and had argued that ‘fit’ and ‘large’ were not incompatible, claiming she worked out 6 times a week and was in fact, fit.

Jennifer Portnick’s story gave the team at IDEO invaluable insight that helped them reconsider several assumptions about overweight people.

‘To begin with the assumption that all fat people want to be thin, that weight is inversely proportional to happiness, or that large size implies lack of discipline is to prejudge the problem.’

Observation – The Acumen Fund case study

When IDEO worked with the Acumen Fund to find a way to provide clean water to the underprivileged in developing countries like India and Africa, observation helped them to understand problems that were not immediately obvious.

For example, they realised that obtaining safe, clean water wasn’t always the problem; rather the problem was often transporting it hygienically across harsh terrain and long distances to its final destination. Observation, via local NGOs, also brought about the need to develop solutions that were culturally appropriate, using systems and methods the end user would be comfortable with.

Empathy – The U.S. Department of Energy case study

One of the important parts of designing a user centric solution is to understand how the user views the problem. When IDEO worked with the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) to promote energy efficiency, it was discovered, through extensive research conducted amongst consumers across cities in the US, that the consumers did not in fact care about energy efficiency and this was one of the assumptions the DoE’s prior programmes had been based upon.

By empathising with the end user’s perspective, IDEO was able to suggest solutions that were energy efficient no doubt, such as ‘stylish but thermally efficient window coverings and retail displays of energy-efficient lighting’, but more impactfully, that also tied in to what really mattered to the target market – comfort, style and community.

These examples bring out the fact that Design Thinking prevents solving ‘problems’ that are based on the wrong assumptions; for then one isn’t actually solving a meaningful problem!

These are also real life examples of the potential Design Thinking has to bring about solutions for positive social impact – solutions that can solve the pressing problems our world faces today.

If you are intrigued by the Design Thinking framework and would like to apply it to your business, get in touch with Zeitgeist today.

Note: All examples and quotes from ‘Change by Design’ by Tim Brown, Harper Collins, 2009

Design Strategy

Zeitgeist and Design Thinking – Breaking Down The Framework

By admin on

June 28, 2018

- Design Strategy

Zeitgeist is a collective of design thinkers and strategists committed to elevating and enhancing human experiences. To understand how Zeitgeist came to find value in and incorporate the Design Thinking framework, read our earlier article by our Founder, Madhuri Rao

Be it developing a brand for a company, creating a meaningful space for a client or helping a startup idea go from concept to reality, Zeitgeist approaches each challenge against the backdrop of a Design Thinking framework.

The framework is, and allows us to develop solutions that are:

Innovative

Designing for the end user lies at the heart of the Design Thinking framework. By employing multiple creative minds and expert opinions to achieve this, the solutions proposed are innovative. They may be simple or complex, but generally are ‘have not been thought of before’ ideas – original, fruitful and with very well defined value propositions. Further, rapid prototyping, which forms part of the framework, allows for a quick time to market, a key factor in innovations becoming successful.

Effective

Design Thinking doesn’t solve problems by addressing symptoms. It digs deep to arrive at the correct definition of the root cause of a problem, instead of immediately rushing to come up with a Band-Aid solution. By encouraging rapid prototyping, ideas can be quickly tested for effectiveness, rejected, tweaked or finalised.

Adaptive

Since Design Thinking is a holistic approach, taking into account various perspectives and potential influences, solutions are designed not only for the present, but acknowledge potential variables in the future as well.

The framework is also iterative; there is no ‘from point A to point Z’ process. It allows for flexible usage of the creative tools. Once the problem has been accurately defined, you can ideate, prototype and test various potential solutions with the end user numerous times until an optimum one has been arrived at. Design Thinking understands that first ideas don’t always have to be the best ones!

User-Centric

Design Thinking nudges you to immerse yourself into the lives of the people you are designing for, using tools like The Five Whys and Card Sorting. It is only once you truly understand what makes them tick, what their pain points are and what brings them joy that you can begin to consider coming up with solutions that would be truly valuable to them.

Well-Researched

In depth research forms a major part of the process leading up to ideation.

Research into the end users and the social, political, economic and environmental context within which a solution is being proposed ensures a holistic view of the problem today and in the future.

Holistic

Design Thinking aims to address the problem from the entire journey of the end user, and multiple potential innovations in the process. As mentioned in the earlier point, the problem is looked at up close, but also from a bird’s eye view, giving it context and taking that context into consideration while developing a solution.

Collaborative

Since Design Thinking takes a holistic viewpoint, it must be collaborative in order to be successful. Only through multiple perspectives of all the parties affected by the problem can an effective outcome be achieved. And only by engaging with experts can information that is relevant and up to date be factored in. Design Thinking encourages and supports co-creation endeavours.

Creative

The Design Thinking framework encourages out of the box thinking, using techniques like Brainstorming and Mash-Ups. No initial idea is too ridiculous or far fetched to be considered. When the mind is free to work without constraints, the sky truly is the limit, especially when one is secure in the knowledge that the prototyping and testing phases will reveal how feasible and effective an idea is.

Sustainable

A solution arrived at using Design Thinking is one that aims to minimise negative impact – in finding a solution, it doesn’t create more new problems. It looks to optimally utilise resources and always takes into consideration the long terms impact of a proposed solution. It is why Zeitgeist also believes that Design Thinking is an excellent framework with which to develop solutions for positive social impact.

Zeitgeist can help you use the Design Thinking framework to arrive at optimal design solutions for your company – whether you are a startup, an established firm looking to turn things around, or looking to design new solutions for the future that are truly impactful and meaningful – reach out to us today.

Space Design

THE FUTURE OF ARCHITECTURE: Part 1 – Dynamic Architecture

By admin on

June 26, 2018

- Space Design

What is now proved was once only imagined

-William Blake

Without imagination, there would be no progress. Architecture has a huge part to play in the direction mankind advances. It is responsible for defining the multitude of interactions and dialogues among people, their surroundings and the circumstances that govern life itself. It also determines the direction of our future – sometimes adapting and evolving, at other times, defying norms, and hopefully, revolutionising the way we live and experience life. It is important that architecture constantly learns, reviving and reversing the way we live to ensure not only preservation of life but its budding and, without creativity and imagination this would be impossible.

This series explores the future of architecture by looking at various examples covering existing and upcoming buildings, and those ideas currently under research and development.

In the first part of the series, Zeitgeist will look at the Da Vinci Tower of Dubai, a dynamic 80-storey skyscraper by David Fisher.

What is Dynamic Architecture?

David Fisher defines it as:

architecture as part of the environment, adjusting to the sun and the wind, to the view and to our momentary requirements

The term ‘Dynamic’ is a discipline within mechanics responsible for movement of objects with the effect of forces. Movement of a building is known as Dynamic Architecture and it involves a fourth dimension – time. The beauty of Dynamic Architecture is that the building’s form and shape are constantly changing, making it fluid, while exhibiting the building’s ability to adapt to change.

The Beginning

At the mere age of five, David Fisher’s mother use to take him to watch the Mediterranean sunset every evening – a beautiful gift, to be able have dinner with a magnificent view everyday. From a very young age, Fisher was enamored by time, the only constant that is ever-changing. The sunsets made him reflect on life, its movement; a powerful visual – the sun consumed by the water and how it happened everyday!

The Eureka Moment

One late afternoon in New York, David Fisher was visiting a friend who lived on the 51st floor of the Olympic Tower. His friend and owner of the apartment said “David, did you notice that you can see the East River and the Hudson river both from my apartment, and nobody else in this building has this view. I am the only one who has such a view.” David replied, “Why don’t we rotate the entire floor so that everybody gets a view.” He went back and worked on it, discovering that if he rotated each floor separately with different speeds in different directions then the building would change shape continuously, and was astounded with the results.

From this point on, Fisher’s designs changed with time, not just in shape, but also in functionality.

Everything is changing and everything is changeable in our lives

– David Fisher

The Manifestation of Fisher’s Dream – The Da Vinci Tower, Dubai

David Fisher named it The Da Vinci tower in honor of Leonardo Da Vinci, one of the greatest visionaries and inventors.

Because Leonardo Da Vinci did everything; he invented from the gill box to the helicopter, the submarine to the milling machine…Everything, but, he didn’t think about one – the rotating building.

– David Fisher

So Fisher created the first rotating tower, The Da Vinci Tower, a concept yet to be executed. Planned construction is anticipated to commence this year and is to be completed by 2020.

The enormous, towering building would have floors that rotate, completing a 360-degree rotation every 90 minutes. So there would be no need to pay a higher price for the view you wished for, as you would be able to change the view of your suite anytime you wanted, seeing the sunrise and the sunset from the same suite that you live in. The suites would enjoy all four cardinal directions covering the building. Further, sustainable innovation is also evident as the tower would be equipped with wind turbines in between each floor within a 2 feet gap that generates electricity for the tenants and supports the energy requirement for the rotation. The penthouse residents would be able to park their car at their apartments. Not only will the building sustain the energy requirement for itself, but it will be the first digital building actually producing energy, and supplying energy to a further seven buildings in its neighbourhood.

Construction Methodology

Traditional construction takes 2000 workers, 6 weeks for 1 floor and 30 months for the entire building whereas dynamic architecture will take 90 workers, 6 days for 1 floor and 18 months for the entire building. This method of construction technique is the future. Dynamic architecture is keeping up with time, and changing with time. There are studies being conducted on prefabricated modules for building vertical cities especially in war-affected areas, where workforce and construction time play a crucial role. The building will be made in a factory and shipped directly to the site. Further, the ability to produce energy not only for itself but for the surrounding buildings is the future.

Mechanism of the building

Construction

Our Reflections

When the sky’s not the limit but the beginning, you will never stop yourself from imagining.

Imagining the impossible will draw a lot of criticism, but translate that into your challenge and a concern that you must address. It should never become a hindrance but rather a design parameter.

And how do you go about it? Creativity and passion will help you ride the storm and conquer the impossible – sometimes you may reach for the stars but you might walk away with the moon instead – no complaints there! The key though, apart from all these attributes, is the application of a holistic approach to the problem when deriving a solution – the framework of Design Thinking, which I am proud to say is a core part of the Zeitgeist process.

Raoul Parekh
Founder & Chief – Design Management

with research support by
Mahek Khan
Designer – Space

Design Strategy

Could Co-Creation be The Key to Positive Social Impact?

By admin on

May 31, 2018

- Design Strategy

According to the Center for Social Impact at the University of Michigan:

Social Impact is a significant, positive change that addresses a pressing social challenge.

For the change to be significant it needs to be systemic, not piecemeal.

So how does one go about maximising systemic positive change?

One of the reasons Zeitgeist advocates co-creation is because of its potential to generate innovative design that can have far reaching social impact.

Consumers today seek out brands that exemplify social responsibility, sustainable development and higher purpose; brands that answer the bigger questions such as:
– How do we design a car that reduces air pollution?
– How do we ease the difficulty parents who have terminally ill children experience?
– How can we find a way to give villagers in remote areas access to safe drinking water?

We believe co-creation provides the best approach and today we’d like to explain why.

We have scaled things down and chosen the example of waste segregation at home, to explain how co-creation offers the most effective method – one that brings about a systemic change.

The identified need here that can bring about positive social impact is – Waste Segregation.

SOLUTION WITHOUT CO-CREATION

You invest in two garbage bins and inform all the members of your home that henceforth garbage needs to be separated as wet and dry waste. You pat yourself on the back for having done your bit for the environment.

However, after two weeks, you realise that all isn’t well, when the garbage collector refuses to collect garbage from your home henceforth, since it is not being properly segregated.

How can this be? What is going wrong?

After some investigation, you discover the following: – Your 8 year-old and the house help both don’t fully understand the difference between wet and dry waste.
– The garbage pick-up is now being done at 5am and not 7am as was earlier the case. Because of this, the house help, who used to take the garbage out when the pick-up arrived, now leaves the garbage bins outdoors at night. As a result stray cats (and possibly rats!) have been attacking the bins, leaving the house help quite dejected and the garbage collector annoyed about the whole situation.

SOLUTION WITH CO-CREATION

You now realise the folly of your ways. The true need can only be identified by empathising with all the parties involved in the process.

You begin to collaborate with the parties involved (except maybe for the cats and rats, because let’s face it, in all probability they don’t really care about your garbage segregation problems) and come up with ideas that could help you’ll collectively achieve the goal of proper garbage segregation.

Your ideas might include: – Using the Internet as a tool; looking for YouTube videos.
– Educating your child about segregation using words and methods that he/she is able to relate to.
– Educating your house-help about segregation in the language he understands best and perhaps getting one of those ready reckoners translated into his mother tongue.
– Helping your child and house-help understand how their small actions have a part to play in the bigger idea of protecting the environment.
– Taking the garbage collector’s suggestion and investing in dustbins more suited to the new method of garbage collection and better able to withstand those unexpected midnight assaults.
– Using your wet waste to make compost for your garden or for the community garden.

Will this be enough? It’s not possible to know, till you test the new system.

If your new ideas don’t deliver results, you might need to go back a few steps and come up with more ideas in order to achieve your goal. You might find a new problem – your son isn’t really gung-ho about ‘this whole segregation thing’. So perhaps you’ll take your co-creators to a garbage segregation dump, so that they empathise with what the garbage collector has to deal with. Maybe you could show them examples of the impact the garbage problem has had and could potentially have on the world at large. Only when they realise the urgency and importance – when they experience a paradigm shift – will they be enthusiastic and feel a responsibility towards the project.

This example isn’t intended to tell you how to solve the problem of poor garbage segregation in your home. It’s intended to expose you to the understanding that:

Only a holistic solution that takes into account all the parties involved, and brings about a paradigm shift, can result in systemic change that drives social impact.

We believe that the principles of co-creation that we explained in our previous article on the subject enable the optimum way to achieve these objectives that lead to social impact.

We’ve come up with a model that lays out the steps that lead from identifying a social need to enabling social impact. Design Thinking and collaboration – the underlying essence of co-creation – lie at the heart of the entire process.

Can you think of ways this could be applied to the world at large? Consider a large-scale social problem that bothers you – could co-creation potentially offer a more robust solution to it?

Share your thoughts with us in the comments section or at our Facebook page:

Design Strategy

The Golden Principles Of Co-Creation

By admin on

May 24, 2018

- Design Strategy

Have you been thinking about trying out co-creation at your organisation, but don’t know where to begin?

Co-creation as an evolving concept can sometimes create a feeling of ambiguity. At its core however are a few basic principles around which the act of co-creation can be customised depending on need and environment.

In the first part of our series on co-creation, we explored what the concept was and how it is the optimum tool for developing solutions to complex problems. In the next part we examined companies that have been successful in their co-creation ventures. The third part looked at the inextricable link between technology and the ultimate goal of co-creation – innovation, for value creation.

This post looks at how to go about enabling co-creation. What are the key psychological and operational elements that make up a successful co-creation endeavour? We’ve narrowed it down to 7 principles.

1. Unlock Minds

Effective co-creation requires a certain kind of mindset – an attitude that encapsulates humility, empathy and transparency.

At the heart of co-creation lies humility. A know-it-all attitude is not conducive to co-creation. The belief that there can be another and possibly better way of doing things is key.

Another vital element is the ability to empathise with the end user. This enables the development of solutions that actually solve the problem. The parties to co-creation must also be transparent with each other, which in turn means that a high degree of trust and integrity must exist.

Not all organisations (either intentionally or unintentionally) embody these aspects in their corporate culture. The first step would thus be to expose the people in your team to the synergetic potential of co-creation. Besides sharing concepts, sharing practical examples of co-creation, such as those we spoke about in our article Co-Creation: More Than Just a Buzzword is an impactful way to showcase the power of co-creation.

Clear directives and training, which explain the benefits of co-creation open up the mind to new ways of innovating, and state what the purpose of the endeavour is, without being too restrictive in nature, so as not to stifle creativity.

The idea is to empower, not overpower your team.

2. Plan for Harmony, Prepare for Chaos

As with any successful venture, a good plan is essential. Besides setting clear objectives, the co-creation plan must also take into consideration how the initiator will go about infusing a culture of humility, empathy and transparency – if it doesn’t already exist – into the company.

This isn’t something that can happen overnight, but as the initiator you must work to foster such an environment, keeping in mind that co-creation requires a change in mindset and perhaps a change in organisational culture as well, which employees may not always take in their stride.

It can be demotivating when the required change isn’t forthcoming. You must thus always keep in mind that a change in mindset is a process requiring patience and persistence, and not a one time event.

Co-creation can be successful only if a spirit of collaboration is encouraged and nurtured. This could take the form of collaboration within the organisation, with outsiders, with the end user or with other stakeholders.

However, collaborating means that several parties from various backgrounds come together – a situation that if not structured properly, could lead to undesired outcomes, misunderstandings and chaos in general.

Having a plan and sticking to it alone isn’t enough. One must be prepared to handle change and the uncertainty it can bring. In fact, unpredictability must be embraced, for it is through unpredictability that one is able to discover new possibilities and explore their application and feasibility.

3. Put People First

Any co-creation endeavour must put people first. This takes two forms.

First, your team must be clear that the end user’s requirements must remain at the forefront of their decision making and ideation processes at all times. This could be extended to include encouraging the end user to explore his creativity in discovering a solution. End users have the invaluable advantage of hands on experience, but they don’t always recognise this fact.

Secondly, you, as the initiator, must keep your co-creation team motivated at all times. Incentives, recognition and appreciation are key; people like to be valued for their contribution. Equally important is feedback and support, to nurture development of the concept, keep lines of communication open and to help overcome barriers, which are an inevitable outcome of a new way of doing things.

Co-creation should be looked at as a win-win for all concerned and must focus on value creation for all the stakeholders involved – this ensures enthusiastic participation.

4. Connect Creativity

The trends and innovations of the past 10 years or so across industries and businesses appear to indicate a shift towards more creative, non-traditional ways of developing solutions. This ties in directly with co-creation, which encourages connecting diverse creativity.

For example, one doesn’t traditionally see an architect working with a psychologist. But what if the psychologist could help the architect to understand the behaviour patterns and motivations of the particular market the architect is designing for? Isn’t it likely to generate a more user-centric and effective design?

As an initiator of co-creation you should encourage and facilitate connections between the people who could be most effective to your particular projects. At large companies this could also mean letting go of traditional approaches to innovation and management hierarchies.

In order to solve complex problems, people should be allowed to to freely and rapidly exchange information. This could take various forms, from reducing red tape to facilitating online platforms for interaction.

5. Pick Pertinent Partners

While Point 4 above indicates opening up the avenues of creativity by including co-creators from various backgrounds, it is important to understand that this must be balanced with choosing the correct people for your particular project.

For example, if attempting to achieve major breakthrough ideas, it makes sense to include technologically sound partners – the best if possible – sometimes even with a competitor, as our example of co-creation between Apple and Microsoft in Part-2 of this series showed. On the other hand, if co-creating something for the greater good, it makes sense to include people with similar values, interests and goals. Wikipedia is a good example, with the common goal of participants being knowledge sharing at a single point.

6. Capitalise on Technology

Technology, as discussed in our earlier article, can be a big asset to co-creation. The idea though shouldn’t be to try to utilise every new technological innovation that is developed, but rather to examine which technologies could enhance your particular co-creation undertaking, in terms of speed, quality, reach and precision.

7. Fail Faster, Grow Quicker

Finally, any co-creation endeavour must accept that not every idea that comes to light may be an appropriate one. The initiator must be prepared for this and be able to weed out the ideas that are not in keeping with the objectives.

Similarly, preparation must be made for what will happen post the idea generation stage – an action plan for how to practically apply a great idea. Once ideas have been shortlisted, it is important to rapidly prototype and test the practical feasibility of it their application. The faster you eliminate ideas or discover potential problems, the closer you are to finding the most effective solution.

Have you tried co-creation at your organisation? Share your experience with us in the comments below or on our Facebook page @zeitgeistdesignanddevelopment

PREVIOUS POSTSPage 1 of 2NO NEW POSTS